Racket stringing vise



Jan3,1933 w.'. BlcKEL. 1,893,267

RACKET STRINGING YISE Filed oct. 14. 1931 amm* Patented Jan. '3, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WAI'LLIAMIA. BICXEL, or OAR PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR or ONE-THIRDJrOinmoral)V W. RomiR'rs AND Two-THIRns'ro EARL W. THOMPSONv 'BASKET STRINGING VISE Application led October 14, 1931. Serial 110.568,82.

This invention relates to tennis racket Stringing vises and, more especially, such a vise which,with slight changes in size, may be used for Stringing other kinds of rackets, such as squash and badminton rackets, 'and so forth.

A feature of the invention is the combination of the racket head clamp and the handle clamp to provide a Sim le and effective device of the character indicated; and a further feature resides in the construction of the racket head clamp proper and the handle' clamp.

The inventionis illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which# Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved vise for Stringing rackets wit-li a racket frame clamped therein; Fig. 2, a. broken plari view with the head clamp shown in the position for Stringing the centrally disposed longitudinal strands; Figs. 3, an enlarged broken sec tional view of the head clamp taken at'the line 3 on Fig. 1; Fig. 4, an enlarged sectional View of the handle clamp, taken at the line 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, an enlarged broken sectional view taken at the line 5 on Fig. 2; andY Fig. 6, a plan Sectional view taken at the line 6 on Fig. 3.

In the drawing, the device is shown as comprising a ribbed bar A; a head-gripping member B mounted on one end of the bar; and a handle-gripping member C mounted on the other end of the bar. D designates a tennis racket having a head 7 and a handle 8.

The member A` is preferably a ribbed bar provided with broadened end-portions 9 and 10 adapted to be securely fastened to a work bench or extension plank. The clamping members B and C are mounted on supports 11 and 12 suiciently above the bar A to permit the Stringer to work below the racket head without discomfort. Preferably, the bar, the rigid jaws of the gripping members and their supports are cast in one piece.

The handle-gripping member C comprises a base 13 upon which the racket handle rests, a floating )aw 14 and a rigid jaw 15 and an abutment 16. The jaw 15 tapers slightly in the direction of the racket head to conform with the contour of the racket handle at the point Of engagement. The abutment 16 has a threaded bore 17 containing ascrew 18 which controls the position of the ioatng jaw. The floating jaw has a peculiar utility in my device in that it self-centers the racket handle, thereby eliminating any possibility of stringing the racket while the head in in a strained or twisted position causing it to warp.

It is well known that the throat of a tennis racket is one of the weakest spots in its construction. In order to prevent springing or cracking of the throat while the racket is being strung, I have located the handle-gripping member C relatively close tothe head of the racket.

The head-gripping member B consists of a rigid jaw 19 provided with a Set Screw 2O and a movable jaw 22 disposed on said set screw and controlled by a knob 21. The rigid jaw 19 has an offset vertical face 28, curved to follow the contour of the inner side of the topof the racket head. The offset face 23 is shallow enough to permit the holes in the racket head to extend above the top face 24 of the jaw when the head of the racket is resting in Stringing position.

The jaw 22 has a slightly concave inner surface 26 adapted to engage the top of the racket and an overhanging head 27 to engage the side of the racket as it lies in the vise. The outer surface of the jaw basan upwardly tapering bots 28 adapted to contact with the knob 21 when it is screwed on. The pressure of the knob on they movable jaw forces the lower part of the jaw against the shoulder 25 of the support 11, forming an abut-ment which tends to move the upper part of the jaw into engagement with the racket head in a diagonal direction.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 6,.the shoulder 25 is provided with 'a stud 29 adapted to engage a groove 3 0 in the movable jaw when the jaw is forced into gripping position, thereby preventing the movable jaw from rotating with the knob and from Securing the racket head in a twisted position. v

The jaw 22 is provi-ded with a longitudinal Y longitudinal holes, the jaw is rotated to a horizontal position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and in thatposition, is brought into engagement with the racket head. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a lining preferably of wool felt covers all the faces contacting with the racket; f* f y v- The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearncss of understanding only` andnounnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible, in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new, and by Letters Patent, is:

desire to secure racket head while it is shank adapted to self-center the racket handle; said head-gripping member comprising a rigid jaw having angularly related faces adapted to support the racket head on its lower side and to en age it on its inner side; and a movable jaw having faces adapted to engage the sides of theracket head opposite to those in engagementwith said rigid jaw faces;,means of adjusting the movable jaw; and means of preventing distortion of the engaged by theclamp. WILLIAM A. BICKEL.

1. A racket Stringing vise comprising in combination a handle-gripping member and head-gripping member; said vhandle-gripping member consisting of a base, a rigid jaw and an abutment extending from said base and a floating -jaw controlled by a screw adapted lto self-center the racket handle, said head-gripping member consisting of a rigid jaw provided with angularly related faces adapted tosupport the racket head on its lower side and engage it on its inner side, and av movable jaw disposed on a set screw and having surfaces adapted to engage the sides of the racket head opposite to those engaged by said rigid jaw; and means to keep the movable jaw in alignment with said rigid ]aw.

2. An integral racket `Stringing clamp comprising: a racket handle-gripping member and a racket head-gripping member mounted on a' bar, said handle-gripping member having a channel in a plane longitudinalto the barand said head-gripping member having a channel in a plane transverse to the bar.

3. An integral racket Stringing clamp com. prising: a racket handle gripping member and a racket head-gripping member mounted on a bar; said handle-gripping member comprising a shank having abutments at opposite ends, one of said abutments serving as a fixed jaw, an operating screw mounted on the other abutment and a movable jaw mounted on said' shank, said head-gripping member comprising a rigidjaw having angularlyr related faees and a movable jaw having faces adapted to engage the sides of the racket head; and means of adjusting the movable aw.

J 4. An integral 'racket Stringing clamp comprising: a racket' handle-gripping member and a racket head-gripping member mountedv on a bar, said handle-gripping member comprising a shank having a surface to support said handle, abutments at opposite ends of said shank, one of said'abutments serving as a fixed jaw, said fixed jawV tapering in the direction of the head-gripping member, an operating screw mounted on the other abutment, and a movable jaw mounted on said los 

